(Bloomberg) — Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said its board approved a 50-to-1 split of its stock and will put the change before shareholders on June 6.
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The stock, which closed at $2,797.56 in New York trading Tuesday, has gained 74% in the last 12 months. The shares jumped 4.4% at 6:32 p.m. in extended trading.
The split would be the first in the company’s 30-year history, the company said in a statement. The burrito chain went public in January 2006 at $22 a share. As of Tuesday’s close, its stock price was the fourth highest on the S&P 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
If shareholders approve the split — which the company says would be one of the biggest in New York Stock Exchange history — owners will get 49 additional shares per share held, Chipotle said. The split shares would start trading on June 26.
The split will make the stock more accessible to employees and a broader range of investors, Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said in the statement.
The company’s shares are at an all-time high, which Hartung attributed to “record revenues, profits and growth.” Chipotle last month posted fourth-quarter results that beat expectations as both transactions and check sizes rose, bucking a slowdown that hurt other chains.
Chipotle will give a one-time equity grant to restaurant general managers and crew members who’ve worked at the chain for more than 20 years, the company said.
After enjoying a comeback earlier in the decade, stock splits have been on the wane in recent years. Chipotle would be just the fourth company in the S&P 500 to split its stock since the end of 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Walmart Inc. and Cooper Cos. both split their stocks this year. That compares with about two dozen from 2020 through 2022.
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(Updates with details from statement and context on stock splits.)
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